The study of the animal remains from the Neferhotep Complex (17th–20th Dynasty, Valley of the Nobles, Luxor, Egypt)

Abstract

The Tombs of the Nobles are located in ancient Thebes (modern Luxor, Egypt) and are primarily the site of elite burials. One such is the monumental funerary complex of Neferhotep, which is characterised by several tombs arranged around a central court: TT49, TT187, TT362, TT363, and TT347, which have been already excavated, while TT348 is still closed. They are dated from the end of the XVIII Dynasty (fourteenth–thirteenth century BC) to the Ramessid Period (twelfth–eleventh century BC), with phases of reuse mainly in the Third Intermediate Period and in the Ptolemaic age. From the late eighteenth century, they functioned as storerooms and stables for the houses built above them in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. A large number of artefacts, such as pottery, shabtis, fragments of cartonnage, amulets, offerings have been found, as well as human remains belonging to at least 136 individuals. Among these finds 112 specimens of animal bones have also been attested. The remains seem to belong to three different groups: ancient votive mummies, linked to the cult of the god Amun-Ra; modern domestic animals dated to the modern phases of reuse of the tombs; and scavengers, which entered the tombs in search for food. The zooarchaeological studies complete the multidisciplinary analysis of the Neferhotep complex and provide new information about the use and reuse of the Theban tomb from ancient to modern times.